The Guardians White Sox Game 5 is here. After four wild games, two cities, eight comebacks-worth of momentum swings and not a single home-team win, the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox will play a winner-take-all AL Division Series decider on Saturday night at Progressive Field. First pitch is set for 8 p.m. ET, and the winner advances to face the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Championship Series beginning Monday.
It is the series nobody wanted to end — and, for one side, it is the nightmare nobody wanted to face. Chicago squandered two straight chances to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since the 1906 World Series, falling 9-5 on Thursday night in a Game 4 that broke open in a chaotic six-run sixth inning, according to Reuters. Now the AL Central rivals head back to Cleveland, where the road team has somehow won every game of the series so far.
Guardians White Sox Game 5 Pitching Matchup: Williams vs. Burke
The pitching matchup is a rematch with a twist. Cleveland will start Gavin Williams, the same right-hander who closed out Game 4 with 18 pitches on Thursday, just two days before the biggest start of his life. Chicago counters with right-hander Sean Burke, who earned the victory in the bulk relief role against Williams in Game 2, per Reuters.
Williams, 27, was brilliant in his Game 2 start on Monday, striking out 11 over five-plus innings while giving up two runs on four hits and three walks, though he received a no-decision in Cleveland’s 4-3 loss. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt confirmed Friday that Williams recovered fine from his Game 4 cameo and will operate under normal conditions. During the regular season, Williams went 14-8 with a 3.76 ERA and 248 strikeouts across 32 starts.
Burke, 26, has been Chicago’s postseason revelation. He went 11-7 with a 3.34 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 32 appearances (27 starts) during the regular season, then carved up Cleveland in Game 2 with 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball and six strikeouts. Both pitchers say they plan to empty the tank.
How the Guardians Forced Guardians White Sox Game 5
Cleveland’s offense finally woke up in Game 4. José Ramírez and Patrick Bailey homered and had two hits apiece, with Ramírez driving in three runs and Bailey delivering the go-ahead single in the sixth, according to Reuters. That sixth inning was the series’ turning point: Cleveland sent 10 batters to the plate and scored six runs against three White Sox pitchers, with eight straight reaching base via five hits, two walks and a hit batter.
The collapse of Chicago’s bullpen was the stunner. Reliever Grant Taylor, who had pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings across the first two games of the series, did not retire a batter in the sixth, yielding four runs and four hits while walking two. The White Sox used seven pitchers in all; Cleveland used eight, with Erik Sabrowski earning the win in an inning of scoreless relief.
Chicago’s bats, quiet since the opener, managed a brief fightback — Miguel Vargas homered leading off the ninth — but Williams slammed the door. The loss marked the second straight night Chicago failed to clinch at a sold-out Rate Field.
If you missed how this roller-coaster started, catch up on our coverage of José Ramírez’s heroics in Game 3 and the White Sox’s Game 1 shutout.
What the Winner Gets: A Date With the Rays in the ALCS
The stakes could not be higher. The winner of the Guardians White Sox Game 5 heads straight into the AL Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, the AL’s No. 1 seed and the only American League team to win 100 games this season, with Game 1 set for Monday. The Rays are rested after sweeping the Yankees in three games.
For Cleveland, it would be validation of a remarkable rally — the Guardians won the AL Central after trailing Chicago for much of the summer, and their offense has now produced 18 runs across Games 3 and 4 after managing just three in the first two games combined. For Chicago, the fairytale continues only with a win: three straight 100-loss seasons gave way to this improbable October run, and a Game 5 victory would send the White Sox to their first ALCS since their 2005 championship season.
One more quirk worth knowing: the road team has won all four games in this series. That trend favors the White Sox in Cleveland — but as this series has proved, nothing about it has followed a script.
Guardians White Sox Game 5: Frequently Asked Questions
When is Guardians vs. White Sox Game 5?
Game 5 of the ALDS is Saturday, October 10, at 8 p.m. ET at Progressive Field in Cleveland, airing on TBS, according to Heavy.
Who is pitching in Game 5 for the Guardians and White Sox?
Gavin Williams starts for Cleveland and Sean Burke for Chicago, per Reuters. Williams closed Game 4 on Thursday and started Game 2; Burke won Game 2 in bulk relief against Williams.
What was the score of ALDS Game 4?
The Guardians beat the White Sox 9-5 on Thursday, Oct. 8, at Rate Field in Chicago, tying the best-of-five series 2-2, according to Reuters.
Who does the winner play in the ALCS?
The winner advances to face the Tampa Bay Rays, the AL’s top seed, in the American League Championship Series beginning Monday.
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